John Howard rejects calls to change Liberal Party rules after spill

Former prime minister John Howard has rejected calls for the Liberal Party to change its rules to prevent a repeat of last week's leadership coup.

Speaking at a Canberra Writers' Festival event on Sunday, the Liberals' elder statesman suggested the party could benefit from more school teachers in their ranks, singling out a political class devoid of "life experience" as a key factor in the turbulence that had befallen Australian politics.

Mr Howard, who practised law for more than a decade before entering politics, advocates work outside the political sphere as a grounding for aspiring politicians.

John Howard says there is no point changing the Liberal Party rules to prevent a spill.Credit:AAP

"It doesn't have to be private enterprise," he said, adding that "a teacher in a government school" would have relevant experience.

"What's the point of bringing in rules if, in any event, they can be set aside?"

Under Labor's leadership rules, MPs and members elect a new leader over a month-long process. The long timeframe is designed to give electors time to scrutinise the candidates and test their suitability for the pressures of the leadership.

However, the Labor caucus can overturn this rule if they have a majority.

Labor changed its parliamentary party rules to stem the bloodletting that saw Julia Gillard take the prime ministership from Mr Rudd in 2010, only for him to wreak his revenge in a 2013 comeback, then lead the party to electoral defeat.

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Mr Howard, in conversation with Sky News political editor David Speers, decried the rise of the political class.

"There's a growing number of people in the ranks of both sides of politics whose only life experience has been in a political environment," he said.

"The upshot of it is that the machinations and gamesmanship of politics have become more important to them than some of the policy issues."

Mr Howard said "identity politics" had blurred the division between the two major parties.

His advice to leaders was to "get a clear idea of what you stand for".

"If a leader establishes authority, and the greatest authority is a proven capacity to win an election," he said.

Quizzed on whether this approach ought to have delivered the prime ministership to Julie Bishop, given her high public approval ratings, Mr Howard said party members were "not just guided by opinion polls".

New PM Scott Morrison with his deputy Josh Frydenberg.Credit:AAP

The "capacity of prospective candidates to manage the party" and respect for members' views were also essential, he said.

Mr Howard also urged new Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his Liberal Party deputy Josh Frydenberg to embrace the media, which was "one of the three great institutions that keep our democracy".

"Political leaders have got to engage with all of the media," he said.

"I don't think Kerry O'Brien on the 7.30 Report was the leader of my fan club, but he was ... a very talented journalist," he said.

John Howard with Kerry O'Brien ahead of an appearance on ABC's 7.30 in 2007. Credit:Robert Pearce

"I took the view it was my responsibility to go on his program regularly, partly because my parliamentary colleagues watched it ... but also because it reached the general public, particularly rural watchers of the ABC."

Mr Howard noted the influence of talkback radio on Australian politics, warning against a tendency to "sneer" at its stars and their listeners' perceived "political unsophistication".